WINTER NEWSLETTER
June 2024
WE HAVE ROSES GALORE!
Order your bare root roses now while there’s plenty of stock. Visit our website https://knightsroses.com.au or phone 1300 1ROSES or (08) 8523 1311. We have a wonderful selection of both bagged and potted roses available. Retail Store operating at 44 Jack Cooper Drice, Gawler SA. Winter is the perfect rime to plant roses, fruit trees and ornamentals, such as Lavender, Lillies, Begonias, Geraniums and shade loving shrubs.
MAKE THE RIGHT CUT - WINTER PRUNING
There’s an old saying, “It’s too soon to prune in June!” July is the month when most roses are pruned. Pruning too early risks damage from frosty nights. Some old-fashioned roses and some weeping standards are pruned after they flower in spring. However, these are a minority. For all other roses, mid-winter is the best time to remove dead, old or diseased wood, shorten healthy canes to promote vigorous new growth and train your roses to a manageable shape and size to encourage flowering. In this process you are rejuvenating the plant to ensure it is productive year after year.
Consider the condition of your plants. Trying to resuscitate an older plant that has been performing poorly is a losing game– best to remove it and replace it. Pruning is not difficult with the right equipment. You need good bi-pass secateurs, good loppers and a pruning saw. Wear all leather gloves, preferably gauntlets. A pruning saw is ideal for cuts over 2.5cm and removing old canes. Make sure your tools are sharp.
When you prune a bush rose, focus on the bottom half of the plant. Ideally, you want to retain strong, healthy, young canes and remove all dead and damaged wood and twiggy growth. If sufficient new canes have grown from the base (water shoots), then you can remove old canes by sawing them off flush at the base. Look at the bottom of the plant and remove any ‘suckers’ those shoots coming from below the bud union.
Also remove canes crossing over into the centre of the plant. Ultimately, you want the rose bush to resemble roughly a cup shape, to allow air to circulate and light to penetrate.
The outer rim canes should be reduced to one-third to half of their original height and cut to 7mm above an outward facing bud (eye). Remove all leaves. Ideally cut at a 45-degree angle above the bud ‘eye’ where foliage was attached. Within a few weeks the dormant bud eye will begin to swell. In another three weeks the swelling will result in a young new stem.
Prune Miniature roses and patio roses slightly less severely than Floribunda roses, as hard pruning encourages the development of a few, strong shoots at the expense of the production of blooms.
CLIMBERS AND PILLAR ROSES
Climbing roses and pillars are a great choice as they make use of your vertical space and can create a colourful attractive garden background.
When pruning climbers or pillar roses, first look at the base of the plant. If it has performed well, there will be a number of new canes from the base. These will provide the best flowers in the spring. Therefore, do not remove these.
Secondly, move up from the base of the plant, following older canes (evident following the previous years’ pruning). Some will have strong new canes emerging partially along the old stem. Others will only have short stems all along the cane. These would have produced the flowers during the previous year. Determine how many stems you require.
As a guide most climbers need at least 12 canes in order to wrap 6 canes onto a wire trellis on each side of the plant. Remove dead wood and unwanted old canes.
SAME LOCATION: Boundary of Pillar Roses shown in winter and spring
For a Pillar Rose, leave approximately 6 to 8 good green canes growing from the base, then wrap them onto the pillar, half clockwise and the other half anti-clockwise and tie on.
Remove any remaining old foliage from stems, fallen leaves and pruning remnants and place into green waste. Composting may not kill off spores and disease – best to dispose of it altogether.
Standard ‘Iceberg’ roses are very popular – they last for many years and produce an enormous number of blooms. Pruning is not difficult, although regular shaping is needed to make sure the head does not become too large as it may be damaged by strong wind. Also check that the standard is well secured to its stake. Cut out thin, dead or diseased wood. Prune back new shoots to 3 to 5 buds (about 15cm) and remaining lateral shoots to 2 – 4 buds (about 10 – 15cm). When the plant is about 3 years old, the head will be formed. These buds are sometimes known as ‘eyes’.
WINTER SPRAY FOR PESTS AND DISEASES
Once pruning is finished, a winter dormancy spray should be applied liberally – use Pest Oil, Winter Oil or Lime Sulphur. Winter Oil is considered best. If using Pest Oil double the dosage. This will effectively eliminate over-wintering aphids and spider mite eggs and fungal spores in cracks and crevasses on the stems and also on the ground under rose plants. Copper Oxy Chloride spray can also be used; however, it can be detrimental to worms. The Winter Spray regime is important for pest and disease control and will ensure significantly reduced outbreaks in spring.
FERTILISING
Roses do not require feeding in winter. However, roses benefit from an application of Neutrog ‘Seamungus’.This is a soil tonic and root conditioner, manufactured from seaweed, fish,humid acid and manure. It stimulates the roots into strong healthy growth inlate winter and early spring.
Pelletised Seamungus is recommended, as pellets will breakdown with rainfall enhancing root growth and should be applied prior to mulching. For stressed plants apply Neutrog POPUL8 to add beneficial microbes.
MULCH
Clean up old fallen leaves and cuttings then apply mulch. There are many types of mulch available, including pea straw, pine bark, wood chips and top quality commercial products such as Jeffries Recover and Neutrog ‘Whoflungdung’. Generally, apply mulch in late winter before the roses begin to produce tender shoots which can be accidently broken off.
Knight’s Roses recommend an application of 5cm of Neutrog’s ‘Whoflungdung’. While it can be applied immediately around the base of mature roses (3 years and older) it is advised not to apply mulch closer than 15cms to new, one or two-year-old plants as sometimes damage can occur to young basal shoots.
‘Whoflungdung’ comes in 20kg compressed bales. Apply water after application to settle it down. Mulch significantly reduces evaporation, cools the root zone and introduces good microbial activity into the soil.
PLANTING YOUR NEW BARE ROOT ROSE
Remove your bare root rose from the bag, wash off sawdust, soak in full bucket of water with 20mls of Neutrog GOGO Juice for 4 to 6 hours before planting. Dig a square hole roughly 30cm and add a handful of Neutrog Seamungus pellets into the bottom of the hole and mix thoroughly. This will encourage root development.
JOIN THE ROSE SOCIETY
Consider joining the Rose Society of SA and enjoy meeting other rose lovers and attending events and meetings throughout the year. Free rose pruning demonstrations will be held 30th June and 7th July. Visit the website for more information and lots of helpful advice: https://sarose.org.au/about/
A reminder to email your rose questions to: retailsales@knightsroses.com.
Contact Knight’s Roses for more information – phone +61 8 85231311 or visit our website www.knightsroses.com.au